We strongly oppose routing the high-speed
rail (HSR) through
Houston neighborhoods.Why?Residential neighborhoods would be
devastated by introduction of HSR infrastructure. At its typical 40- to
50-foot height, this infrastructure would be visible from blocks away,
bisecting the neighborhoods, blighting their character and charm, and
decimating property values. Because the available right-of-way is
narrower in many places than the 100 feet Texas Central Partners (TCP,
formerly known as Texas Central Railway (TCR)) says it would require, it
is likely that condemnation of private property would be necessary.We believe the damage to neighborhoods
and their residents would be unjustifiable, especially for a private,
for-profit rail service that will not serve the neighborhoods it passes
through and whose anticipated high fares (comparable to air travel,
according to TCR mean its ridership will include only a tiny sliver of
the public, largely business travelers.

The HSR terminus at 290/610 makes a great
deal of sense.Houston’s center of gravity, with
respect to both population and jobs, lies well to the west of downtown.It was no accident that TCP concluded
that a location outside downtown provided the best mix of costs and
benefits.It is better for the public, too; a
downtown location would force those wishing to ride to Dallas to travel
downtown, worsening traffic and parking problems.

There is undoubtedly a need to connect
downtown with the HSR station.It would be best to accomplish this
using a mode of transit that can also serve the neighborhoods it passes
through, such as light rail or bus rapid transit.

Mayor Turner has indicated repeatedly
that new approaches to transit, not just building more roads, will be a
primary focus of his administration.There is now an opportunity to plan
the growth of Houston’s transit network for the next 20, 30 or 40 years.The introduction of high-speed rail is
an important event, and we should think carefully about how best to
integrate it with other modes of transportation.

Another factor is that Texas Department
of Transportation (TxDOT) is in the
advanced stages of planning a reorientation of I-45 that will involve
massive new roadways and transform vehicular traffic flow through the
downtown area.Wouldn’t it be wise to bring them into
the conversation as well, in order to ensure that their work doesn’t
impede access for mass transit traveling west of downtown?

There are many possibilities.We do not pretend to have all the
answers.But, we think that there is an
important conversation to be had, and neighborhoods should have a seat
at the table.We believe that working together is
the right way to achieve the best outcome.